Chaucer's Framework
A project synopsis on analysing The Canterbury Tales as a frame narrative
Navn: Kim Gjersøe
Studienummer: 46294
Semester: Forårssemestret 2015.
Modul: KA1.
Kursus: British Studies.
Sprog: Engelsk.
Anslag: 14937
Introduction
The Canterbury Tales (1380-1400) is one of the most wide-ranging frame stories to have
seen the world. Its frame as a story-telling contest between pilgrims on their way to
Canterbury allows Chaucer to do two things: to present something resembling an estates
satire on a broad range of social classes, through the pilgrims, and to explore a wide variety
of genres, through the tales they tell.
Given this wide range of both genres and characters, it is outside the scope of this project to
encompass them all. The point of interest for this project will mainly be the relationship
between the frame of the narrative (the pilgrimage to Canterbury) and the fictional worlds of
the tales themselves. Two characters, along with their tales, will be used to explore this point
of interest: the Wife of Bath and the Miller. The reasoning for this choice amounts to their
loud-mouthed and somewhat bawdy personalities, which can be clearly compared to the
tales they recount.
The main research question for this project will therefore be:
What is the relationship between the frame narrative and the tales, and what effect
does Chaucer achieve through presenting the tales in this frame?
Setting the stage – the General Prologue
The General Prologue starts off with a generous description of the spring season and how it
urges pilgrims to go to pilgrimages on 'foreign shores'. And as is stated, Canterbury is an
especially popular destination for pilgrimages in England - probably for its conveniently
closer location.
The stage is set for the pilgrims to meet at the inn called the Tabard, and since it is in the
spring, the beginning of a new year, it seems sensible for new acquaintances to bloom in this
season. As has been suggested by some critics, the opening with the April showers of rain
'engendering the earth' may have some sexual undertones alongside the "Thanne longen folk
to goon on pilgrimages," (Benson, 1987, Fragment I 12) where the obviously secular
undermines the spiritual goals of the pilgrimage (Helen Cooper, 1983). Thus the tone of the
story is set: the main theme of recounting this specific pilgrimage is not to convey any
spiritual revelations, but to bring together people from all layers of society into a temporary
companionship and have their tales shared on a journey to Canterbury.
Chaucer, as the frame narrator, spends most of the General Prologue describing each
member of this pilgrimage in great detail, some with emphasis on their appearances, others
with their deeds and occupations. Each of the characters are named by their estates, and
therefore it seems there is a focus on bringing together different types of people rather than
portray psychologically deep or realistic individuals.
I would claim that having these detailed portraits of each participant adds another dimension
to the tales they will later convey. With each tale, the audience will likely keep the picture of
the supposed taleteller in mind when reading them (or listening to them, as medieval
literature was often read out loud at court). So for example, when we hear the Miller's Tale,
we keep in mind the brutish and rough character of the Miller, who has beard red as
"(...)any sowe or fox(...)" (Benson, 1987), and who is also portrayed somewhat as a
charlatan. However, even as the vocabulary and style is affected in each tale by the
supposed taleteller, the narrator of these tales should still be regarded as Chaucer in each
tale, from the simple fact that he is able to convey a level of artistry that most millers, for
example, would not likely be able to match.
The interludes of the frame narrative
Beyond having the General Prologue setting the frame that unites all these different tales,
the frame also shows itself through a prologue to each tale. These interludes have several
effects. First of all, they work as transitions from one tale to another. They often show the
reactions of the other pilgrims, which helps direct the attitude of the audience to each tale
told.
It also rips the audience out of each fictional world and reasserts the imitated reality of the
frame, which helps emphasise the fictional element in each tale. As a result, we are
constantly reminded that these are tales told by a sometimes dubious narrator, and that the
purpose of telling them is competitive. These prologues also help bind the tales and their
tellers together, showing the relationship between each tale. Perhaps one of the most
obvious connections is the one between the Knight's Tale and the Miller's Tale, where the
Miller opts to "quite" (pay back) on the Knight's tale with a bawdy fabliau that seems a great
contrast to the Knight's philosophical romance.
The Miller
The Miller is in all ways a figure with lack of grace and manners. He interrupts the social
order that the Host wishes to impose by taking the next round from the Monk, and demands
to speak. This causes quite a stir with both the Host and the Reeve, and before the start of
his tale, our main narrator even advises us to beware the 'vulgarity' about to be exposed to
us.
We are advised not to take it too much to heart – we can even "Turne over the leef and chese
another tale;" (Benson, 1987, Fragment I, 3177). In other words, flip a page and choose
something more refined, if that is what we want.
Now how does this affect the reading of the tale?
The obviously drunken behavior of the Miller and the metatextual apology of Chaucer
prepares us for a tale that has no higher goal than to entertain us, with little obscurity to
sexual detail; and these expectations are most definitely fulfilled by the tale.
The Miller's Tale: Fabliau and Frame
This tale basically portrays a contest of cunning between two men, Nicholas and Absolon, to
get the young woman Alisoun. It is survival of the fittest, and the story takes place in a
setting more closely linked to the imitated reality of the frame, near Oxford.
So how does the frame affect this seemingly simple story?
If this tale had been outside the frame of The Canterbury Tales, it would not have been
much more than a bawdy attempt to entertain its audience with a witty plot. But in this
circumstance, the story is created on the basis of a miller, who refuses to follow the normal
social hierarchy and revolts against the high prose of the Knight by showing his
interpretation of the same theme (two men wanting the same woman).
In this context, I would argue that the Miller's Tale not only works as a parody of the
Knight's Tale, but also serves the purpose of setting the tone for The Canterbury Tales. This
work aims to encompass more than just one aspect of life, and this is clearly shown by
starting with these two stark contrasts, the Knight's Tale and the Miller's Tale.
It does not seem so coincidental, then, that the Miller starts before the Monk. Millers were
often attributed to be untrustworthy, and a proverb likely recurrent at that time describes
honest millers as having golden thumbs – they were basically a myth (Helen Cooper, 1989,
p. 54). The Miller then seems to be the greatest contrast to the honest Knight, not only due
to his hooliganistic personality, but also in the nature of his profession. So here the
juxtaposition of the ordering of the tales, the lowly Miller putting up a contest with the
noble Knight, also states that all manner of tales and personalities are about to be shown
here. It is a promise from Chaucer that nothing is certain of what is about to come. The
Miller's Tale forces us to take another perspective on the same subject as is conveyed in the
Knight's Tale.
The Wife of Bath
When The Canterbury Tales is regarded as a form of alternative estates satire, it also has to
deal with the estate or 'profession' of being a wife, which is a an estate separated from all
others (Helen Cooper, 1989). It has no set place in the usual hierarchy of those that fight,
those that pray and those that labour. But as has already been noted, the whole point of The
Canterbury Tales is to encompass a broad view on life, and also to haphazard the usual
order of social hierarchies (Jill Mann, 1973). It therefore seems relevant of The Canterbury
Tales to give special attention to the Wife of Bath, and the female perspective on marriage
life.
This might explain the long recounting of the Wife's five husbands in her prologue before
the tale, and the fact that the prologue is actually longer than the tale itself. The prologue
prepares us for the theme of her tale: the balance of power between men and women.
In the General Prologue, the Wife of Bath is presented as a promiscuous lady, 'gap-toothed'
and experienced in the ways of love. Even in her own prologue to her tale, she admits to her
own appetite for love.
"For God so wys be my savacioun,
I ne loved nevere by no discrecioun,
But eevere folwede myn appetit,
Al were he short, or long, or blak, or whit;
I took no kep, so that he liked me,
How poore he was, ne eek of what degree." (Benson, 1987. Fragment III 621-26)
There is no shame to be found in her description of her five marriages and there is
absolutely no holding back on the details of her sexual life. Instead, it is as if the Wife of
Bath takes a certain pride in her experience on the matters of love, like it is a badge of her
estate. In this excerpt, she also lays to claim that it does not matter whether her husband is
'poor', 'black or white' etc., but the most important thing is that he loves her well. This theme
of not caring for appearance or stature of one's partner also appears in the tale she later tells.
Through her prologue, she uses religion excessively as an argument for her efforts of
finding new husbands.
"Men ma devyne and glosen, up and doun,
But wel I woot, expres, withoute lye,
God bad us for to wexe and multiplye;
That gentil text kan I wel understonde." (Benson, 1987. Fragment III 26-29)
Seeing as Christianity may be the sharpest critic of her several marriages and insatiable lust
for love, it seems ingenius to use the religion's own arguments to her cause. This portrays
her both as a shrewd and rhetorical character, but also on the verge of becoming a comical
figure, due to her somewhat exaggerated manner.
Wife of Bath's Tale: King Arthur and Canterbury
Comparing the frame with the Wife of Bath's tale, it is clear that the tale itself in style and
manner plays with what we would expect from the Wife of Bath. As Helen Cooper notes,
one "(...) might have expected Chaucer to give the Wife a fabliau,(...)" (Cooper, 1983) but
instead she offers a fairy tale story more akin to the Knight's Tale, though more simplistic
and less philosophical in nature.
Without the frame, it would be a fairy tale story with a surprising focus on women and the
way they think. In the context of the Wife of Bath's Prologue, it touches on the same subject,
but from a less cynical perspective, and it shows a more idealistic and romantic side to the
Wife.
After a long recount on the actual life of the Wife of Bath, all the troubles and hardships she
has put her husbands through, we are presented with a magical fairy tale that ends in a
marriage and a 'happily ever after'. This seems to say that if a man gives the reins of power
to his wife, his marriage will be successful, and his wife will then become meek and
obedient.
So how does the pilgrimage frame affect 'the fairy lands' of King Arthur? With the aspects
of marriage presented both in a 'realistic' context and a fantastic one, I would claim the
audience is more inclined to take the theme more seriously. Having it shown through two
perspectives puts an emphasis on not simply regarding this matter as just the ramblings of a
woman or a pleasing fairy tale. Combined, the prologue and the tale itself lays a strong
argument to its cause.
In the Prologue to the Wife of Bath's tale, she is interrupted both by the Pardoner and the
Friar, who are both promptly rebuked. They represent the probable reactions of a male
audience, who are put to silence and forced to allow her to continue. In a way, this also
chastises our reading of the Arthurian fairy tale to take its theme seriously: Women want
power most, and as soon as they get this, they will be compliant and content.
Conclusion
From these observations, one thing that can be concluded is that Chaucer's intent seems to
be to compare reality with fantasy. The frame of the narrative allows Chaucer to constantly
shift the imitated reality of the pilgrimage with either a closely comparable setting (such as
The Miller's Tale) or a fantastic setting (such as The Wife of Bath's Tale).
What this does is not to give dramatic representations of the characters, which was formerly
the dominant theory of the twentieth century, and one which has been refuted by several
more modern critics (Bayer and Klitgård, 2011), but instead, the pilgrims give a new context
to the tales they convey. Taken outside of the frame, each tale might be regarded as yet
another tale told in its genre, but thanks to the pilgrims, we get a new perspective on these
recurrent themes and intertextual stories.
The tales can be regarded as representative of their genre, and used in this manner, the frame
of the Canterbury pilgrimage adds another dimension to these genres, a layer of audience
receivance that more closely relates as to how these tales, and the genres they show, can
affect the people that share them. In the fashion of a contest, Chaucer allows the tales and
the genres they represent to compete in a humorous manner and be told in a new light when
compared to each other.
The conclusion is then that the tales do not define the personalities or characters of the
pilgrims, detailed as they may seem. Instead, the links between each tale and the tales
themselves help define each other, and how they relate to the various estates of the
contemporary time. When the tales are regarded in this manner, the level of Chaucer's
artistic writing dramatically increases. There then appears a very large area for interpretation
and research when one takes into account the ordering, the connectivity and themes of the
tales, not as singular entities, but as a unity.
Bibliography
Helen Cooper, 1983. The Structure of the Canterbury Tales, London NW1.
Piero Boitani & Jill Mann, 1986. The Cambridge Chaucer Companion, Cambridge
University Press.
David Wright, 1985. Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales. Oxford University Press. (A
verse translation)
Helen Cooper, 1989. Oxford Guides to Chaucer The Canterbury Tales. Clarendon Press,
Oxford.
Jill Mann, 1973. Chaucer and Medieval Estates Satire. Cambridge University Press.
Larry D. Benson, 1987. The Riverside Chaucer. Harvard University Press.
Gerd Bayer and Ebbe Klitgård, 2011. Narrative Developments from Chaucer to Defoe.
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.